I have to admit we Penny Hoarders were skeptical when we heard of it. We’re still wrapping our heads around the basics ofblockchain and cryptocurrency. Now you’re trying to tell me that people are spending huge wads of digital money on digital cats?

But yes, CryptoKitties are real. They’re exactly what they sound like. And they’re a big (financial) deal.

The makers of CryptoKitties found a way to gamify the buying and selling of cryptocurrency Ether by making collectible cat avatars.

“CryptoKitties is one of the world’s first games to be built on blockchain technology — the same breakthrough that makes things like Bitcoin and Ethereum possible,” the company website explains. “Bitcoin and Ether are cryptocurrencies, but CryptoKitties are cryptocollectibles.”

Two CryptoKitties can breed to create a new avatar, which, depending on its genetic attributes, can have a high Ether value. The cats put a furry face on the value of Ether, which otherwise has few outlets for conventional purchasing power.

As CryptoKitties co-founder Mack Flavelle told The New York Times: “There’s nothing to do with it, so hey, for a couple bucks now you can get a cat. Nobody’s even pretending it’s going to be a transactional currency anymore. It’s a stored value.”

OK, We Get It; Cryptocurrency Is So Hot Right Now

I was happy enough playing the best penny slot machine ever,Kitty Glitter. But apparently, I am not ambitious enough.

ironypoisoning under Creative Commons

The Verge spoke to one 30-year-old who said he’s made more money investing in bitcoin and Ether than by putting money into his IRA. His lucky CryptoKitty cost 12 Ether, but the value rose to about 30 Ether — in today’s conversion, that’s about a $15,500 return.

But this isn’t some game that’s easy to dip into and dabble. While some CryptoKitties are available for rock-bottom rates — this dopey-looking guy is selling for about $18, for example — you need the cryptocurrency know-how and capital to get started and play smart. “There is kind of a barrier to entry, unless you have like 5 Ether to get started with, it’s pretty hard to break in,” the anonymous owner of CryptoKitten (our term, because it’s cute) told The Verge. You can’t earn unless you already have money to spend. Or if you were a super-early adopter.

cryptokitties.co

This one is my favorite because it looks mostly like a cat, if you forget that its feet, ears and tail are all green. At the time of this writing, you can buy it for 99 Ether, which is about $89,349.

A small drop in the cryptocurrency bucket.

Lisa Rowan is a senior writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder who has thrown away many, many pennies playing Kitty Glitter.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.